April 13, 2009

Ravinstyle.com At The Wonderland Fashion Flea Market -Preview

So I continue with my quest to turn the world into Pop-Up Retail heaven...gone are the days of boredom via the usual retail outlets!!! Isn't it more interesting and yes entertaining to shop in a new venue, to be inspired by fashion you just can't find everywhere??? I think it is... Add in the concept of limited edition, (meaning if you don't get there early, you will miss out) and I think we have the formula for obscene (recession-friendly obscenity that is) displays of spending and a whole hell of a lotta fun!!!

My friend Jill, of Flutter Jewelry fame introduced me the Ravinstyle.com team and for me it was love at first sight. You see, Ravinstyle.com is one of the few eCommerce sites dedicated solely to supporting emerging designers. If you recall, I founded my Pop-Up business with the desire to "save" the little guy, to give new brands an opportunity to get in front of the customer and the press, to help the uber creative stay afloat during these challenging retail times. The minute I spoke to Biba at Ravinstyle.com, I knew they would have to be the next featured brand at the Wonderland Fashion Flea Market.

If you need a little memory jog, the Wonderland Fashion Flea Market was launched as a Grace Group partnership with the beyond fabulous Michael Angelo's Wonderland Beauty Parlor in the MePa (Meatpacking for short). Michael Angelo and I collaborated to lauch our first flea market back in January with eight amazing brands and decided to shake things up this time around by working with an eCommerce brand instead. Bringing the amazing Ravinstyle.com virtual world to life via a 3-D shopping experience not only is beyond exciting, but also lets shoppers get past the online shopping stigma. We all just want to touch and feel!!! In fact, WWD just did a story last week on how Net-A-Porter's discount site will be doing frequent Pop-Ups...I am thrilled that ours will be one of the first!!!

In true The Gift Of Style form I plan to write about all of the incredible brands we will be featuring. This event will bring you true indie fashion at its best, so I promise you won't want to miss it. To give you just a quick taste, we will be Popping-Up with Rebecca Minkoff Handbags, Leyendecker Dresses, Daughters Of The Revolution (see my feature from last week), Les Halles (the hot new denim line), Gemma Redux Jewelry, Flutter Jewelry, Tolani Scarves, Kathryn Amberleigh Shoes, Matt Bernson (the must-have summer sandals), Cammie Hill Clutches, Cecelia Du Bucourt (punk chic fashion), Daftbird (cool girls answer to Splendid), Enza Costa Rogue (the best basic tees), Masacva (high-design dresses), Thierry Lasry Sunglasses, Olivia Song Home and Jessica Grindstaff (whimsical ribbon pins). Now for the best part, none of these brands will break you bank...the best recessionista fashion around!!! Also, to top it all off, Michael Angelo's Wonderland Beauty Parlor has a retail store in the front of its fab space with design from the likes of Tord Boontje, Murakami, Harry Allen and many others. One-stop shopping, Pop-Up heaven!!!

The event will happen on Sunday, April 19th at Michael Angelo's Wonderland Beauty Parlor at 418 West 13th Street, between 9th and Washington. I hope you can make it!!!